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A Poet's Portal.....Come see who :-)
7/9/2008 12:55:41 PM
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A Poet's Portal
Hello friends,
This week its not a poem I'm sharing here, its Prose, and its something I wrote about 2 weeks back in retrospect. Something that touched my life so profoundly. So I share it with you.
 Nana's lil' girl...A step back in time..The year 1957
Eva gently lifts her 3 1/2 yr old grand daughter and places her on her
hip, even though the little girl could easily walk through the market
place. But Eva doesn't mind carrying her grandchild on her hip, the
very typical Indian style. "Yenna ma, ippidee thookata nadakalam ma?"
[now this is Tamil, the language of the State of Tamilnadu, and it
translates as, "what dear mother, do you have to carry this child like
this and walk?'] "Yes, the market place is quite dirty, she will get
messed up. Do you know who she is? is her reply to them. "This is my
son Albert's daughter, the eldest. Isn't she adorable?" all the locals
gather around their favorite customer to appreciate and admire the love
that flows from grandmother to granddaughter! and vice versa.
'Nana put me down please' the little girl whispers shyly, but to no avail, 'cos Nana never lets go as if for some reason...!
She shops for fresh vegetables, fish, chicken & beef, then trudges
home with the little girl still on her hip. She must hurry home fast to
be able to get the lunch ready in time for her little girl.
Once home she rushes to the kitchen, lights the wood fire & begins
preparing a beef pepper fry that her little girl loves. Her thoughts
straying to the days ahead, when she will have to bid goodbye to her
son's family as they go on a transfer to the North of India, 'why did
he have to join the Air force I will never know' she wonders..its
tearing her heart at the thought of being separated from this angel of
a child she had become so attached too. 'Oh well, let go I must'....she
glances at the huge clock out in the corridor, its time to feed her her
meal. Placing food on the plate she calls out to her precious little
girl who comes running all too soon and lifting her up on her hip as
always she lovingly feeds her her lunch.
Why was she so special to Nana the little girl wonders, there were
other cousins too around, but she never saw her Nana do this much for
them! Nana did this only for her....why?
The day finally arrives, all the packing done, and its time to leave home to catch the train that will take them to Delhi.
Nana's eyes are full of tears, she hugs the little girl to her breast,
the little girl is crying too, and barely whispers " don't want to go
Nana, want to stay with you!" Now both are sobbing, the entire family
has gathered to bid farewell, they are all moved to tears and their
hearts ache as they see the pain of separation in the old lady's
eyes."go my child Nana will always love you." she whispers into the
little girl's ears. "I love you too Nana, don't send me away please"
she pleads, then she hears her father say"Come now Paula, who will take
care of Dada if you stay here huh?" That did it, the little girl
couldn't decide who she loved more, her Nana or her Daddy! But go she
did.
As the horse carriage draws them further and further away from the
house, the frail figure of her sweet Nana diminishing slowly into the
far distant scene, and then she could see her no more.
Six months later, the little girl comes into the house happily hopping
and skipping, she is happy and has found new friends, lots of them, and
is learning a new language too. As always she runs to her father and he
would give her a huge hug, but this time something was amiss.
Dada sat expressionless in his chair, on seeing his little girl he
broke down and wept." Whats wrong Dada?" she asked throwing her little
arms around him. But he cried even more, now she was crying
too...'Please Dada..what is it?"
"It's Nana baby, she is no more" .
All at once she understood why she was so special all that time, and why Nana did what she did for her alone.....she knew!
copyright2008Pauline Raina
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Sometimes we never understand why we feel, do, or say somethings, but
this has taught me that every moment spent with a loved one, be it
friends or family is so precious, so worth it, and special. 'Cos one
never knows when our paths will divide us, and we can take with us what
we have received in the short time of walking together. I have few
regrets in this regard, and pray that may I never be found wanting in
the capacity to give of myself sincerely and generously. Yes Live life
to make a difference ..it is WORTH IT!!!!
Mark 12:30-31
30And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all
thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all
thy strength: this is the first commandment.
31And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy
neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than
these.
***************
Blessings always
Pauline
_BFA
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"In the arena of human life the honors and rewards
fall to those who show their good qualities in action, for words are mere
words."
- Aristotle
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